Eyes to the Hills: Finding Help in God

Devotional

Day 1: Alabaster Cities Undimmed by Human Tears

The gleaming promise of renewal outshines every failure. Just as the woman’s tears could not stain Christ’s redemptive work, no regret or shame can diminish God’s power to make all things new. Her alabaster jar became a symbol of lavish grace, poured out without fear of scarcity. Like the "alabaster cities" in the poem, God’s vision for humanity remains radiant despite brokenness. Trusting this promise frees us to bring our whole selves—tears, doubts, and all—to the feet of Jesus. [31:34]

A woman in the city, who was a sinner, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.
(Luke 7:37–38, ESV)

Reflection: What hidden regret or shame have you hesitated to bring to Jesus? How might His promise to make all things new shift your perspective today?

Day 2: Pilgrims Singing on the Steep Ascent

Life’s uphill journeys demand songs of stubborn hope. Ancient pilgrims climbing to Jerusalem sang psalms to refocus their hearts when fatigue blurred their vision. Their physical ascent mirrored the spiritual discipline of lifting eyes beyond immediate struggles. Rough terrain and scorching sun became reminders to depend on the One who carved the mountains. Our own steep paths are invitations to sing truth louder than our fears. [34:14]

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121:1–2, ESV)

Reflection: What “song of ascent” (Scripture, hymn, or prayer) could you cling to this week when the climb feels overwhelming?

Day 3: The Rugged Individual’s Empty Mirror

Self-reliance becomes a hall of mirrors, reflecting only our limitations. Like the jailed man who insisted all answers lay within, we often confuse introspection with wisdom. But the myth of the “self-made” life crumbles under life’s storms. True strength emerges not from staring inward but from leaning into the God who designed mountains and molehills alike. [39:36]

Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
(Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV)

Reflection: Where has “figuring it out alone” left you weary? How might inviting God into that area alter your approach?

Day 4: GPS Screens and Missed Parking Lots

Answers glitter in every direction except the one that matters. Like the pastor searching his phone while the bank stood steps away, we often drown in data but miss divine clarity. Screens amplify comparison; headlines feed anxiety. Yet peace begins when we tear our gaze from the storm to fix it on the Storm-Calmer. [46:05]

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him.
(Matthew 14:30–31, ESV)

Reflection: What “screen” (literal or metaphorical) distracts you most from hearing God’s voice? What step could help you glance up more often?

Day 5: Scars from Staring at Our Feet

Looking down guarantees collisions. Peter sank when he focused on waves; the pastor tripped into trees while checking his footing. Yet God’s promise remains: our Protector never sleeps. Steep trails and shaky knees matter less than the destination. Walk with eyes lifted, not because the path is easy, but because the Guide is sure. [48:16]

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
(Psalm 121:8, ESV)

Reflection: What situation tempts you to hyper-focus on “your feet” (immediate details) rather than trusting God’s broader guidance?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 121 begins with a traveler looking up and asking the question everybody asks on the long uphill journey of life: where is help going to come from? The psalmist answers his own question plainly: help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The hills around Jerusalem were not just scenery. The hills were a reminder of holiness, of God’s dwelling, and of a pilgrimage that lifted the eyes from earthly concerns to heavenly realities.

The image of “America the Beautiful” opens up that same kind of vision. The alabaster cities gleam “undimmed by human tears,” and Luke’s picture of the sinful woman with the alabaster jar shows why that matters. The alabaster points to the promise of Jesus, who washes clean, gives a fresh start, and makes new life possible. Human tears cannot dim what Jesus gives.

Psalm 121 pushes faith away from the wrong places people tend to look. Self-reliance looks within and believes the answer is hidden somewhere inside the self. Healthy introspection has its place, but self-awareness can become self-focus, and the heart that only looks inward gets trapped inside its own small room. The man in jail who called himself “spiritual but not religious” had that problem. His spirituality never moved him toward God, truth, consequence, repentance, or help.

The psalm also refuses the habit of looking around. Circumstances change like the wind. Headlines, bank accounts, doctor’s reports, screens, opinions, and social media comparisons all glitter for a little while, but they fade. The world gives more answers than any soul can process, and often answers questions that did not even need to be asked. Circumstance-dependent faith rises and falls with every phone call.

Psalm 121 calls for looking up. Looking up is a deliberate spiritual posture. It breaks the bondage of looking in and looking out, and it anchors faith in the One who is above. The Lord does not let the foot slip. The protector does not fall asleep on the job. The Lord is shade on the right hand, covering the heat of the day and the fear of the night. The Lord watches over coming and going, not as a promise that nothing hard will happen, but as a promise that no steep climb, unexpected turn, or dark valley falls outside God’s care.

Key Takeaways

1. Help comes from the Lord The psalmist asks the honest question of distress: where is help going to come from? Psalm 121 does not send the heart into itself first, or out into the noise first, but up to the maker of heaven and earth. The deepest help is not manufactured by grit or luck, but received from the God who made the hills being faced. [35:48]
2. Self-awareness is not self-focus The inward life matters, but the inward life cannot become a prison. Self-awareness can lead to wisdom, confession, and healing, while self-focus keeps circling the same fears and defenses. Faith that only looks inward loses sight of God, neighbor, consequence, and grace. [40:24]
3. Circumstances make shaky saviors The economy, the news, the doctor’s report, and the opinions of others all change faster than the heart can keep up. Faith tied to those things rises and falls with every headline and every phone call. The world’s solutions may glitter, but Psalm 121 points to help that goes deeper and lasts longer. [41:21]
4. Looking up changes perspective The simple act of looking up can reveal what was missed while staring down. The bank had moved across the parking lot, but the sign could not be seen until the eyes lifted. Faith often works that way, lifting the gaze from the temporary panic to the eternal presence of God. [46:05]
5. God keeps the whole journey Psalm 121 does not promise an easy road, and David knew enough trouble to never pretend otherwise. The promise is better: the Lord watches over life, coming and going, now and forevermore. God’s care holds the traveler through steep climbs, hot days, anxious nights, and unknown turns. [50:37]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[25:01] - God Will Not Let the Foot Slip
[29:48] - America the Beautiful and Patriot Vision
[31:34] - Alabaster, Tears, and New Life
[33:27] - Lifting Eyes to the Mountains
[34:36] - Songs of Ascent and Pilgrimage
[35:48] - Where Help Really Comes From
[36:04] - Looking Within and Self-Reliance
[41:21] - Looking Around at Changing Circumstances
[45:09] - Looking Up to God
[47:33] - The Protector Never Sleeps
[49:58] - Shade by Day and Night
[50:37] - Kept Now and Forevermore
[54:46] - Closing Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 121
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” [24:59]

Luke 7:36-38
“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.” [31:44]

Matthew 14:28-31
“And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'”

Observation questions

In Psalm 121, what actions and images are used to describe the Lord’s care for his people: keeping, not sleeping, shading, and watching over coming and going? [47:33]
In Luke 7:36-38, what does the woman actually do with the alabaster jar, her tears, and Jesus’ feet?
What are the three places people tend to look for help: within, around, and up? [36:04]
What examples of changing circumstances were named that can easily take over a person’s attention and confidence? [41:06]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 121 says help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. How does calling God the Creator deepen the meaning of that help? [44:55]
There is a difference between self-awareness and self-focus. What makes that difference so important for a life of faith? [40:24]
In Matthew 14, Peter begins to sink when he notices the wind. What does that picture suggest about what fear does to trust when attention shifts away from Jesus? [49:08]
Psalm 121 does not promise an easy road, but it does promise that the whole journey is kept by God. How does that shape the way a believer understands hardship, uncertainty, and daily life? [50:37]

Application questions

When pressure rises, where does help usually get sought first: inward through self-reliance, outward through circumstances, or upward through prayer and trust in God? What does that pattern reveal? [45:15]
Self-focus can become a small locked room. Where has inward thinking lately turned into isolation, defensiveness, or endless replaying of the same fears? What would it look like to let that move toward confession, wisdom, or honest help from others? [39:33]
Circumstances make shaky saviors. Which changing thing has had the most power over peace lately: money, health, the news, other people’s opinions, or something else? How has it affected faith this week? [41:37]
Looking up is a deliberate spiritual posture. What simple practice could help lift the eyes to God during an anxious day: a short prayer, a Psalm, turning off the phone for a while, stepping outside, or something else? [45:18]
The Lord is shade by day and keeper by night. Is there a daytime burden or a nighttime fear that especially needs to be placed before God right now? [49:43]
God watches over coming and going. What part of the present journey feels uncertain right now: home, work, family, health, a decision, or a relationship? What would it mean to entrust that specific path to God’s keeping? [50:37]
Sometimes the problem is not that God is absent, but that the eyes are fixed too low. What has been keeping the gaze down lately, and what might help lift it again this week? [46:05]

Sermon Clips

50s

“``Verse five and six says, the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. God covers every moment and every condition. The sun represents the harshness of life's trials. The moon symbolizes the fears and anxieties that haunt us in the dark. God's protection is not seasonal. It's twenty four seven. Whether you're in the heat of a crisis or the chill of uncertainty, you can be confident that god is there. Looking up, my friends, is an act of trust, isn't it? It's choosing to fix our eyes not on the problem for a minute, but on the problem solver. Not on the storm, but on the one who commands the winds and the waves.”

35s

“Psalm We're 21 is a traveler's song, but it's also a believer's anthem. Last roads will have steep climbs, unexpected turns, and moments when the hills ahead seem overwhelming. But the psalm reminds us, look up. Your help comes from the Lord. Rest assured, God never sleeps. Walk in confidence, God's protection is constant, and live in hope. God's keeping is forever.”

41s

“The Psalm reminds us that our ultimate health is not in the creative but in the creator. God's solutions go deeper and last longer. God doesn't just patch the surface. God transforms the heart. So the third place that we look instead of in or out is up. God dependence. Looking up is a deliberate spiritual posture. It frees us from the bondage of looking in, self reliance, and looking out the worldly solutions. And it anchors us in the one who is above.”

54s

“The song of ascent, Psalm one twenty one, this one that we read was written by King David. And he reveals in Psalm one twenty that he is in distress, that this long uphill journey of his life is filled with conflict, and he longs for peace. And King David cries out for help. He asked the question that we all ask when we need help. Where am I gonna get some help? You ever asked that question? Who's gonna help me? Where will I get help? And then in Psalm one twenty one, he answers his own question. My help comes from the lord. And I think David is trying to tell us that on this long uphill journey that we call life to look beyond our present struggles and look to the hills to shift our focus.”

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